Books · Museums · Observations · People · Humour

Facts about Beethoven's mother from Koblenz refute the myth of his African origin

We have already heard about a black Napoleon; now it turns out that Beethoven was black too. One wonders who is next in line: Shakespeare? The author of this theory has even published a book, but not one of the facts he cites as proof of Beethoven's African

NB! · Faith · Observations

I had never given it a thought, but the number of times one crosses oneself after each prayer has its own significance

A smiling man in a cap and sunglasses embraces a smiling woman in a floral dress against a green park.

Observations · Mores · Pop Culture

The author with Olya in an old city garden in Tver in summer

Many happy returns to my most stylish dear friend Olya Karput, who is not only one of the most agreeable and unquestionably beautiful women in the world of Russian fashion, but also, without a doubt, the finest partner for a ball! 💙💎. How sentimental I have become 🥹 In the photograph, Olya

NB! · Art · Observations · Humour

Edvard Munch and I Draw Faces in Much the Same Way

Books · Monarchies · Observations · Society

Ivan the Terrible and the boyars in Belinsky's 1836 review of Polevoy's history book

Remember how they drummed the great Vissarion Belinsky into our heads at school. Well, let us turn to his writings. Here is a review of 1836 of N. Polevoy's «Russian History for First Reading», in which Belinsky calls Ivan the Terrible a man of good inclinations, and a

Faith · Books · Observations

A priest reads a prayer from the Synod for Russia's deliverance from enemy invasion

I Am Reminded of the Prayer for the Salvation of Russia That Leo Tolstoy Gives in Volume III of "War and Peace" ...the sacristan brought out a little stool, the very one on which the kneeling prayers were read on Trinity Sunday, and set it before the Royal

NB! · Art · Observations · Pop Culture

Thanks to Yandex Go Ultima, I now have a whole collection of works by Pepperstein 💙

Stone wall with an Anecdotes Wall sign, metal plaques with text and two illustrations, one showing a horse-drawn carriage.

NB! · The East · Observations · Humour

Wall of Anecdotes in Three Languages on Gyumri's Central Square

The central square of Gyumri, a wall of jokes in three languages. At the very least it is charming, at the very most, inspired!

Geography · Observations · Science · Mores

Parisian millstones in English mills and Derbyshire gritstone

From an article on English milling I learnt that coarse Derbyshire millstone grit would do for grindstones, but the finest material was held to be stone from quarries outside Paris, which every millowner of any means tried to import. So for centuries the English were, quite literally, eating bread ground

In the painting, a nude Adam and Eve recline under a tree, a cat lies at their feet, and goats stand to the right against a landscape.

Art · Observations · Humour

The cat, the goat and the serpent among the details of a painting of Adam and Eve

The Fall of Man, Hendrick Goltzius, 1616. I cannot decide which detail is my favourite: the cat who would rather not witness this disgrace, the peeping goat, or the rosy-cheeked serpent-tempter with the face of Jennifer Coolidge. But it is certainly not Adam and Eve, straight off the

Magazine page with close-up photographs of four Beatles' lips beside their portraits, captioned Paul, George, Ringo and John.

Archive · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

In 1965, 16 Magazine suggested kissing your favourite Beatle

Kiss your favourite Beatle. 16 Magazine, 1965. My kissing fairy, it seems, has gone off to Ringo Starr. And yours?

Drone lights outline a spire and roof above the ruins of a Gothic building under a dark cloudy sky.

Architecture · Art · Observations

The author is sceptical of drones but respects a light display over Gothic ruins

Light installations by the Dutch creative duo Drift that complete ruined or unfinished historic buildings. I am sceptical of the general infatuation with drones, unless they are used to put out fires. To my mind it is an amusement for people who were in raptures over selfie sticks, only slightly